1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to utensils and more particularly to a utensil that has thermal heat sensing, predefined cook times and lets the user know where the food is in the cook cycle by varying an LED color display.
There are two basic types of fondue, dipping and cooking. Cheese and chocolate fondues are examples of dipping fondues. The food can be bread, fruit, cake and the like, which is dipped in the heated cheese or chocolate and then immediately taken out of the fondue pot for consumption. Since the food is not being cooked with this type of fondue, the amount of time the food is in the fondue pot is not critical.
Cooking fondue can be done in broth or oil and in this type of fondue the food actually has to be cooked so the amount of time the food is in the pot is critical. The fondue fork of the present invention provides a means to achieve optimal fondue cooking times (rare, medium, well done) for a variety of foods with minimal effort.
The user can select from predetermined cook times that are suited for various categories of food. The timer is started when the fondue is placed into the fondue pot and the heat is sensed. The progress of the predefined cook times is displayed via an LED sequence that lets the user know when the food is cooking (flashing green), when it has reached rare stage (constant yellow), when it is perfectly cooked (constant green), when it is well done (constant red) and when it has passed well done (flashing red). The LED sequence allows the user to conveniently see at what stage of cooking the food is at all time. This allows the user to choose how he wants to cook each piece of fondue. Typically each fondue user at the table will have about three to four sticks going at a time.
In short, a fondue is a communal dish shared at the table in an earthenware pot over a small burner. A cheese or cream mix in the pot is kept warm as a semi-liquid sauce into which diners use forks to dip bits of food, most often bread but also a variety of foods such as poultry, beef or other meats that require precise cooking time.
The fondue fork of the present invention provides means to achieve optimal fondue cooking times for a variety of foods and foods sizes. This is achieved by incorporating a timer that activates a visual alarm when the predetermined cook time is met. The length of cook time is manually set by the user of each utensil. Furthermore, the length of cook time is automatically maintained for the next piece of fondue, or if necessary, can be adjusted by the user. The precise cook time is achieved by a thermal sensor incorporated within the utensil. Once the fondue fork is dropped into the fondue, the thermal sensor activates the timer.
The order of operation for utilizing the fondue fork of the present invention is as follows:                User turns on fondue utensil by pressing on/off button;        User attaches food product to end of utensil;        User sets appropriate cook time by pressing timer button a desired amount of times;        Fondue utensil responds with a flashing yellow light indicating the cook time setting and ready for use mode;        User places the utensil into the fondue pot;        Utensil thermal sensor detects heat and activates the timer;        LED on utensil turns to flashing green;        Food product cooks and LED changes to identify progress;                    From flashing green to constant yellow—Rare;            From constant yellow to constant green—Medium;            From constant green to constant red—Well-done;            From constant red to flashing red—Past Well-done;                        Food product preparation is complete;        Utensil is removed from fondue pot;        Thermal sensor detects removal from heat and resets timer;        LED on utensil turns back to flashing yellow;        Repeat for additional food product, or turn utensil off with switch; and        Thermal sensor automatically turns utensil timer off when heat is not sensed for a predetermined period of time.        
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other thermal sensing and time activated utensils. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,673 issued to DiGirolamo on Jun. 17, 1980.
Another patent was issued to Ash on Apr. 10, 1990 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,819. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,089 was issued to Dubus on Jun. 6, 1995 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 16, 1999 to Archard as U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,783.
Another patent was issued to Norcross on Jul. 2, 2002 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,398. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,483 was issued to Bond on Jan. 13, 2004.
Internationally, a patent was issued to Staeding on Dec. 12, 1982 as German Patent No. DE3119798 and yet another was issued on Jan. 23, 1987 to Roux as French Patent No. FR2584914. Another German Patent No. DE19706953 was issued on Apr. 30, 1998 to Tils and still yet another patent application was published to Schwarz on Nov. 9, 2006 as German Publication No. DE102005021157.